Maintenance

I took my daughter for an evening bike ride this week. For me, it’s never just a bike ride. My mind can’t help itself but drift to therapeutic analogies.

As we took a ride, we quickly ran into a squeaky wheel situation. The single brake I had been relying on to not be squeaky, had turned on me. I now had both brakes, loudly betraying me, at each stoplight down Willmington. Nothing like an evening ride to relax you.

My internal dialogue looked a lot like,

Hey, this bike is fairly new. How is it squeaky already? Is something broken? Did I get a lemon for a bike? Do lemon laws apply to bikes…?

No, Brooke…it’s not broken, it just needs some maintenance, perhaps a $5 can of grease Brooke.

Perhaps opposite of the general population, I believe that people need regular maintenance, but for some reason I don’t generalize this to vehicles and bikes. I have quite an unrealistic belief, that they shouldn’t break down and that maintenance is only evidence of a poor product. Perhaps that’s how people feel who aren’t in the habit of regular personal maintenance?

Again, quite unrealistic. Vehicles, bikes, and people need maintenance. Perfectly normal vehicles, bikes, and people need maintenance.

It’s unrealistic that the lives we want to live occur without personal maintenance.

Personal maintenance brings our attention back to our values, to what’s important to us. It’s remembering and committing to continue the rituals and habits that keep us aligned with our values.

For me, maintenance is stepping back and taking time for reflection.

For me, it’s reminding myself of what’s important.

For me, it’s making space and being kind to myself when I experience personal barriers.

For me, it’s accepting my imperfections without allowing them to derail my pursuit of what’s important to me.

Reflect. Allow space for personal maintenance. Listen to the “internal squeaky brake.” Somewhere between the squeaky brake and personal maintenance, are the lives we believe are worth living.